Marcella Ann Brown

Marcella Ann Wright's grand entrance into this world was on June 23, 1932 in the city of Portsmouth, Ohio, to the parents of William Wright and Violet Daisy McManes. Msrcella was the third of seven children.

When she was 4 years old, the Ohio River caused a devastating flood which struck her birthplace, severely damaging the family home. The parents decided to move to the small town of Wheelersburg, Ohio which is just up the river a few miles from her birthplace, but at a higher elevation, which is known as Dogwood Ridge.

When Marcella was 14 years of age, her mother gave birth to a 7th child. Ten days later, her mother died. Marcella's dad withdrew her from school to take care of her siblings.

On August 21, 1953, she married Jim Brown, whom she met at church in Lakewood, Ohio. That's also where they were married.

During Marcella's professional years, outside the home, she was employed by the credit bureau, and that led to her becoming an accountant for two car dealerships. Later, she was employed by a retirement home for Methodist women missionaries. The manager recognized her talents and suggested she study to be an administrator for retirement and healthcare facilities. She took classes by correspondence and passed with flying colors. Not really much of a surprise to her husband.

Over the years, Marcella presented Jim with three wonderful and talented children: Dale, Beverly, and William. William died at the age of 41, one month after his parent's 50th wedding anniversary.

The children always took top priority in Marcella's life. At no time were they ever left with a paid babysitter. Work schedules were arranged so that Mom or Dad were always home with the children.

Marcella and Jim have nine adult grandchildren: Rachel, Andrew, Emily, Layli, Brandon, Hanna, Sara, Ryan and Mary. There are also five great grandchildren: Nova, Will, Tennessee, Abigail, and Liam.

During the 31 years at Pasadena 1st Church of the Nazarene Church, Marcella spent a number of years as

the supervisor of the three year olds, and there were about 60 of them on any given Sunday morning.

Doll collecting became a fascinating past time for Marcella, and she managed to garner quite a collection. "G.G." as the great grandchildren called her, gave many, many dolls to her great granddaughters.

In addition to her fascination with dolls, she loved to crochet and knit. Over the years, she made many Afghans and sweaters for the grand kids, as well as for her hubby.

In 1991, Marcella accompanied her hubby to the Netherlands. At the conclusion of a Sunday worship service, Marcella chose to sit on a pew along the wall. Before she knew it, two Dutch children climbed up onto her lap, saying "Oma! Oma!". They were convinced that Marcella was their grandmother, and when their parents told them to come home, they refused to go with their parents, being convinced that this lady was their Oma. It took some tall persuasion by the parents to finally get them to go home with them.

Marcella and Jim were married 68 years and three months.

We miss Mom, Grandma, G.G., and my sweetheart.